In Florence, a Fearless Take on Tradition From Hood by Air

It’s safe to say that Pitti Uomo, the Florentine menswear trade show that’s always been heavy on tailoring brands, isn’t really a Hood by Air kind of scene. So it was surprising when it was announced that the New York-born, defiantly uncategorizable street-meets-high-fashion label would be the special guest designer at Pitti Uomo 87, which is taking place this week.

HBA designer Shayne Oliver has been on a bit of a streak, of course. In addition to the Pitti announcement, he was recently the recipient of a 100,000-euro special prize and mentorship from LVMH; moved his studio and operations to Milan; and presented an epic, three-part Spring 2015 collection that ended with a dance party at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

If we’ve come to expect one thing from Hood by Air, it’s the unexpected, and Oliver didn’t disappoint here. Rather than just import his usual formula, he took a clever coals-to-Newcastle approach. In the land of Pitti Uomo, where Brunello Cucinelli is something like the king, luxury and tradition are the highest virtues. And so that’s exactly where Oliver went with the collection he showed tonight. (It’s important to note that this was not the brand’s actual Fall ’15 offering, which will be shown in New York in February.)

“This is our first attempt to really push luxury in a full collection,” Oliver said backstage after the presentation. “This collection is entirely based on the idea that we’re here at Pitti. We felt this should be a stretch for us. We worked backward. We were like, everything needs to be made tailored, but it needs to be for us. And now we know that we’re capable of doing this so we can incorporate it more into the collection.”

Guests were shuttled to the Tuscan hills outside of town to a villa that had been fully Hood by Air-ified. The atmosphere made an incongruous contrast to the setting thanks to smoke machines, strobe lights, and a neon logo mounted in the garden below the terrace where the show was held.

As if to prove that he can hang with Pitti’s traditionalists, Oliver madetopcoats the centerpiece of the show. Elegance was balanced with strangeness and the inclusion of unexpected details, like the cutouts on the back of one coat that mimicked the body armor on a motorcycle racing jacket. Other coats were cut with paneling reminiscent of a 1970s ski jacket, or lopped off just above the peak of the lapel. Some trousers appeared classic from the front but came with built-in sag, revealing a faux-underwear waistband. As for the color palette, it was all about sartorial classics—camel, soft gray, and navy. Black was used sparingly enough that it was striking to see on a double-breasted suit with side-cinch jacket as well as on a classic leather bomber (something the OG fans will appreciate).

Thanks to the precise fabrication of the clothes (Oliver can be grateful to his Milanese atelier for that), the excessive detailing only added to the sense of luxury. As if to keep the Pitti crowd from getting too comfortable with his line, Oliver added platform boots, white eyelashes, and exaggerated Afro wigs to some looks. The resulting campy, disco vibe ultimately did little else but distract from the clothes. Those were the story here.

Backstage after the show, the designer huddled with his models for photos. The aura around them was victorious, like a team that just added another W to its record. One interesting parallel between HBA and the Italian fashion business is the importance of family. For many Italian brands, it can be attributed to multiple generations of tailors and artisans who have perfected their crafts. For Oliver, it’s his crew and support system from New York. Thirty of them flew out for the show and party, which will likely go down in Pitti history. As the first shuttles filled to take some of the uninitiated guests back to their hotels in Florence, Venus X was doing her part to convert the runway into a dance floor.